chapter two
Sincerity
Isaac led me downstairs and into the living room, where a baby grand piano, two acoustic guitars, and a small drum kit sat out. Zac was sitting on the old-fashioned couch, leaning over to write on a pad of paper that sat on the coffee table. "This is our rehearsal space. We've got a couple more guitars if you need them, but I suspect you brought your own, if you're anything like me." Isaac smiled.

"Of course I brought my own. I can't part with my baby." I replied, referring to my dark purple acoustic-electric guitar upstairs. I sat down at the baby grand and let my fingers dance across the keys for a minute. I played the piano when I was a kid, but after that, I picked up guitar, much to my parents' chagrin. I twirled around in the stool to face Isaac and Zac, yawning.

"Was the drive that bad? It's only ten in the morning and you're yawning like you haven't slept in days." Zac teased.

"I was the only one who drove. Will pulled some bullshit excuse about being sick, and Molly hates driving. I do have some sympathy, although a small amount of it. We're from upstate New York, so that was kind of a long drive." I got up and stretched before throwing myself onto the couch with Zac, resting my head on the armrest. My eyes fluttered closed for a moment.

"Why don't you go upstairs and take a nap?" Isaac suggested.

"Don't we have to write?" I replied, stifling a yawn.

"We're staying here for a week. You can afford to take a nap. Want me to walk you upstairs?" he offered.

"What, you think I'm going to get lost in the house all by my lonesome?" I laughed as I got up and headed towards the door. When I walked into the hallway, I paused for a moment, looking at the many doors lining the halls. Turning back to the living room, I shouted, "Actually, Isaac, that'd be great."

Isaac led me upstairs, complete with creaky stairs. I pulled my sweatshirt closer around me as I shivered. I didn't think Maine was this cold. We stepped into my room, where I immediately went for my bags and pulled out a pair of Care Bears pajama pants. "I can get you some more blankets if you want. You look kind of cold."

"Thanks." I replied as Isaac left the room and I quickly threw on my pajamas. I kept my sweatshirt on, almost cold enough to pull the hood up over my head. I sat down on the bed, pulling the covers back and nestling myself in. The ivory pillowcase made a drastically pristine background for my black-and-pink hair to rest on. I turned my head towards the French doors leading to the balcony. I saw a shadow on the floor, as if someone was standing outside on the gray, drizzly winter day. "Isaac, why are you outside? I thought you were getting blankets." I mumbled sleepily.

"I was getting blankets." Isaac replied, stepping into the room from the door where we had entered. "I had to run over to Taylor's room to grab a couple blankets for you." He carefully spread a thick white blanket atop the comforter that was already over my freezing body.

"Are you tucking me in? I'm eighteen, not six." I giggled.

"Hey, it's habit. When you have six little brothers and sisters, that will happen." He flashed that smile of his again. "Do you want me to wake you up for lunch or dinner?"

"You can wake me up for dinner. I'll live without lunch, I'm too…too…Sleepy." I said through a yawn.

"Awesome. I'm cooking, so it should be good. Better than Zac's version of dinner, at least, which is usually something along the lines of his gourmet mac-and-cheese-from-a-box." He turned off the lights as he stepped out of the room. "Sleep well, Sincerity."

My eyes turned back to the balcony doors for a moment before I drifted off to sleep. The shadow was still there.

Molly
I left shortly after the two boys had me practically cornered. I walked up the stairs slowly, careful not to drag my blanket on the ground and not to spill the hot mug of specialty coffee. I paused in the hallway and took a sip and found it not to be coffee at all, but to be my favorite drink. They wouldn't have had it in the house. Will must have brought it just for me. I smiled slightly as I went up another flight of stairs and carefully sipped the hot Chai Latte. My stomach still hurt from the car trip and staring stupidly down at the road.

I let out a heavy sigh as I opened the door to my temporary headquarters. A door that I had suspected led to a balcony was wide open. "That's funny," I said softly. I sat my mug on the stand near my canopy bed, with my quilt still tightly wound around me I shut the doors to the balcony. "Hmmm."

I didn't remember opening the door or anything. I made sure the lock was tightly hooked around the top before sitting on the bed to guzzle down the rest of the Chai Latte. I dove into the huge, fluffy blankets and quilts of the bed, drew the dark curtains around on the poles to cover myself in pure darkness and fell asleep.

My sleep didn't last long. Most of my dreams were haunted by Will. As they always were. I wrote about how it haunted me so, but he never would understand the lyrics or the words. He concentrated mostly on his guitar and the melodies. Sure, he complimented me a lot on the words and so on, but I don't think he even really tried to look underneath the surface of the words. If he did, he'd know a hell of a lot more about me that he did now.

I gave up on sleep when I could smell something coming from downstairs. For the hell of it I threw on some Fairy Odd Parents pajama pants and a Nine Inch Nails concert shirt on. I made my way downstairs with my quilt wrapped around me. I followed the scent to the kitchen and saw Isaac standing over the stove, looking down at some frying bread. He was clearly making some grilled cheese sandwiches and on the other side of the stove a huge pot of tomato soup simmered. I fell at the mercy of a soft chair near the table made for six and watched him from afar.

I had noticed my sister looking at him, in the way that showed she was attracted to him, I mean. He wasn't bad looking, just not my type. He was tall, dirty blonde hair shaped into a mohawk, a goatee, large brown eyes and a killer smile. Without a warning he turned around. "Can't sleep?"

"No. Too many dreams. I wish I could sleep as heavily as Sincerity can." I laid my head on the cool cherrywood dinner table.

He flipped an finished sandwich onto a plate pilled up with sandwiches. He waved the black spatula around dangerously, without realizing the extremities of what he could affect or do.

I felt yet another warm hand on my shoulder blades, but from the tone and touch I knew it was Will. I didn't even turn. Isaac was too busy cooking to notice me at all. Carefully I felt him slowly knead his hands with my skin. He made sure he was under the shirt. I had goosebumps. He always did this. He was always close to me but every single time he got.... close.... I simply lost it.

"Will?" I murmered softly as I closed my eyes.

The hands instantly left my shoulder blades. "He's upstairs," a voice softly murmered back.

He'd knelt back down to my eye level to speak to him, his blue eyes pierced into my own pair of light green eyes. I felt my jaw drop ever so slightly.

I still felt the older boy's... maybe man, he had to be at least twenty... on my shoulders, gently caressing. "I can feel some real tense positons here...." I felt sleepier and sleepier by the moment, I didn't even hear the boys argue, or feel Taylor carry me up the stairs to my room. I remember begging Taylor to save me some of the lunch. My body felt warm all over still. I felt someone climb into bed with me. "Hello," I heard a soft voice say.

"Morning," I said groggily as I rubbed my eyes.

"Dinner is done." I peered into Taylor's face. He was like Will in many ways, but not personality. Both boys were at least six feet tall, or taller. They had longish hair, different color, same color of eyes. Only Taylor's seemed deeper though. I pulled the covers up to my chin, so soft, fluffy and warm. I could feel his body, warm, next to mine. I turned his direction and looked over at him. He rested his head on one palm carefully, watching me. "Are you hungry?"

"Kind of. I don't want to move though."

"Its warm. I'll give you that much." He sighed. "I could fall asleep too."

Without another thought, I pulled my body closer, barely hugged him and didn't move for the rest of the night. I didn't care. He was this stranger, who had climbed into my bed and kept me warm without violating me.

Sincerity
I was running through the dark woods surrounding the house, running as fast as I could. I was trying to get away from something, but I wasn't sure what. My eyes watered as the wind and rain whipped me in the face, and my cheek was bleeding from where a tree branch had slashed across my face. I tripped over a rock, and fell, face first, into the ground. A shadow loomed over my body as I tried to pull myself up. A cold hand grabbed my ankle and pulled me backwards…

"Sincerity, wake up!"

My eyes shot open and I saw Isaac sitting on the edge of my bed, looking down at me, concerned. I could feel my eyes welling up with tears. I had never had a nightmare with so much strength to make me wake up crying and breathing as heavily as I was.

"Are you okay?" he asked, pushing a pink strand of hair out of my eyes.

"Yeah…" I replied slowly, sitting up. "Just…A nightmare."

"Must have been pretty bad for you to be tossing and turning like you were. Do you want to talk about it or anything?" he asked. "Oh, and dinner's ready. You might want to come downstairs pretty quick if you don't want Zac to eat it all."

I pushed myself out of bed, for some reason, insanely sore. "Yeah…I'll come down. Let me find my puppy slippers." I said as I started to dig through another duffel bag.

"…Puppy slippers?"

I pulled a pair of slippers with puppy heads on them out of my bag. "Yes. My puppy slippers. They're warm and make me feel better. And since I left my teddy bear at home, like a moron, my slippers are my security blanket."

Isaac led me downstairs and to the dark wooden table in the kitchen, where a casserole dish sat in the center of the table. Six places were set, and Zac was the only one sitting at the table, impatiently tapping his fingers on the wood and staring anxiously at the casserole.

"You made a casserole? What kind?" I asked, sitting down.

Isaac sat down next to me, picking up the serving spoon and scooping some out of the dish and onto my plate. "It's actually just a macaroni and cheese casserole. Nothing special, really. Just something I threw together."

"Stop making it sound like it was so easy, assface. You pored over that miniature cookbook for twenty minutes just to throw everything in a casserole dish and put it in the oven." Zac said sarcastically. I couldn't help but laugh.

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